​The team continued its preparations for the final round of the Gokartcentralen Open GP Championship this week with its last in-season testing session of the Championship. An open and virgin circuit awaited Grabko Grand Prix as they arrived in the paddock, and the pre-session briefing was simple this time around - drive as fast as you can!

​Kart 18 was assigned for both the reconnaissance and simulation runs by track officials, at the teams request, as they had an eye on gathering data on the effects on the racing line grip between the first session to the second.

Dan started off aggressively, and it didn't really pay off, as the completely clean track had absolutely no rubber down, having been scrubbed the previous evening with no running prior to the team's arrival. The first 7-8 laps resembled rally cross more than karting as Dan struggled to keep the car on the straight and narrow.

During the second half of the recon run, though, the tires and brakes started to heat up and come into their own, behaving closer to normal parameters. Kart 18 itself is a favoured machine amongst the drivers in the series for its general balance, grip, and handling characteristics, and Dan started to carve out his racing line, finding the associated better lap times at the same time. Best lap time recorded in the reconnaissance session - 35.548. Respectable considering the circumstances.

After a quick debrief while the steward topped off the kart's battery, Dan was out again searching for times, reporting in he seemed to have found a new way through the final section of the track and was going to pursue it for the remainder of the session. He remained in the 35.4XX range for the majority of the simulation, capping the session with a best 35.355 in his second to last lap of the run. With the kart performing admirably, the team was grateful to be able to concentrate on gathering data and experience and not having to expend any energy on compensating collected data for variances in kart performance.

After the session, Dan took time to answer local media questions at a small press conference. "As the season winds down we remain extremely focused on the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season. The race for 5th in the Championship is tighter than we had ever hoped, but it feels good to be a part of that fight all the way to the end. With only 2 points separating 3 drivers the race in two weeks is going to the most exciting and tense yet - in a good way, and I can't wait to feed off that rush. It feels great just thinking about it now!"

In response to reports that Grabko Grand Prix would be competing in the Torslanda Summer Cup next week, PR Chief Sara had this to say, "It is true we will be competing as a guest entry in the Torslanda Gokart Center Summer Cup for the May round, but only as a guest entry. As the team is taking its preseason training camp in San Diego, California this year for the months of June and July, being a proper regular entry is not possible for us this season. We hope to take part as a guest entry for the August and September rounds as well, but nothing can be confirmed at this time."

So there you have it, folks! Another great week for the team, and another week closer to the exciting finale to the Open GP Electric Karting Championship, the West Coast's premier electric karting racing series! Support #GrassRootsRacing, support Grabko Grand Prix!